Google Music Beta (as it was then-called) first debuted in 2011—the new service will scan your computer's music collection, then check that against Google's servers and serve you with a stream of those songs. Previously, the service required you to upload each song through its client application.

“Our new music matching feature gets your songs into your online music library on Google Play much faster,” the company wrote Tuesday on its Google+ page. “We’ll scan your collection and quickly rebuild it in the cloud—all for free. And we’ll stream your music back to you at up to 320 kbps.”

Importantly, folks who were hip to Google Music Beta/Google Play back in the day don't have to go through this rigamarole twice.

"If you’re a longtime Google Play Music user, you don’t need to re-upload your files to have them matched," the company now says. "In the next few months, we'll automatically match what we can of your existing library."

This is where the Wall Street Journal identifies a second big difference. Rather than employ Apple’s or Amazon’s strategy—having users pay a “sin tax” for music that may not be 100 percent legally acquired—Google is simply writing “big up-front checks” to the major music labels.

And if this sort of thing matters to you, Apple’s iTunes Match and Amazon’s Cloud Player only offer 256kbps downloads, rather than Google’s 320kbps.

Ars will have a full review of Google Play in the coming weeks.

Promoted Comments

It isn't free, sir. They don't ask for money, and that's not the same thing as free. Nothing from Google is free.

Edit: for the obtuse: it's a barter economy. You barter your privacy and your personal information for a little convenience. That's Google's business model. Facebook too. If you are okay with that, then by all means continue using them.

Thanks again for the thoughtful comments. Yes, as some readers have pointed out, Google Play (or Google Music Beta) has existed for some time now. We're editing the story to make the new parts clearer.